Tom Craddick still deserves great praise

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, January 6, 2009

We certainly were disappointed to learn that Midland representative Tom Craddick had given up his bid for a fourth term as Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature.

It appears that Rep. Joe Straus, a relative newcomer to the political arena, has gained enough support to end Craddick's reign with the help of 12 maverick House Republicans, who had vowed not to vote for Craddick. All but four of the 74 Democrats have opted to go with San Antonian, according to reports from Austin.

Naturally, this is a blow to District 82, which is served by Craddick and includes Midland. The speaker position is said to be one of the most powerful political jobs in Texas state government.

It is no secret that Craddick has had vocal opponents. He withstood an effort to unseat him at the end of the 2007 legislative session, leaving bad blood in its place.

However, few from his district question the drive and determination Craddick has carried out for his constituents. His body of work as speaker has been profitable for the state and we applaud his work and service.

Craddick has produced lasting legislation that will serve the state well, including tireless work on issues such as tort reform, border security, medical improvement, education enhancement and many others.

There is no question that losing the speaker role will lessen Midland's presence in Austin, as well as that of the Permian Basin and all of West Texas. However, Craddick has vowed to finish at least this term and he will continue to have a powerful voice in Austin since he is the longest serving Republican in state elective office, having served since 1968 from the age of 25.

We certainly will survive losing Craddick's place as speaker, but there is a larger issue here that worries us even more. The move made by the 12 renegade Republicans against Craddick helps tip the legislative power toward a more liberal agenda under Strauss. Strauss will owe the Democrats special favors for their backing.

This inevitably means that Craddick and other conservative Republicans could see their powers erode under Strauss. If this does indeed take place, the door is open for the Democrats to once again take over control of the Texas House.

Republicans now hold a mere 76-74 majority in the House and are now seemingly in the process of dismantling its own power base. We don't see this as a positive step toward the future, especially in view of the fact that Texas owns one of the few economies in the U.S. that is still without debt.

We continue to wish Tom Craddick well and still depend on his leadership under difficult circumstances. We still hold with his conservative agenda for the state and hope that the new speaker will rule in that direction.